Wugen Advances 'Off-the-Shelf' Memory NK Cell Therapy WU-NK-101 into First-in-Human Clinical Trial for Relapsed/Refractory AML

▎Wugen

Edited by the Kant Content Team

Today, Wugen, Inc. announced that its researchAllogeneic Cell Therapy WU-NK-101 Completes First Patient Dosing in the First-in-Human Clinical Trial for the Treatment of Relapsed or Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).WU-NK-101 is the company's leading memory natural killer (NK) cell therapy. The company also announced that the U.S. FDA has granted WU-NK-101 orphan drug designation for the treatment of AML.

WU-NK-101 is an innovative immunotherapy that harnesses the power of memory NK cells to treat liquid and solid tumors. Memory NK cells are potent, long-lasting immune cells that exhibit enhanced anti-tumor activity and a cytokine-induced memory-like phenotype.This cell population has superior phenotype, proliferation capacity, and metabolic adaptability, making it more suitable for cancer therapy. WU-NK-101 is currently under development for the treatment of AML. Wugen plans to initiate research on WU-NK-101 in combination with cetuximab for the treatment of solid tumors. To date, studies on WU-NK-101 have demonstrated promising in vivo activity across various tumor models, retaining anti-cancer activity within the tumor microenvironment, resistance to immunosuppression, and enhanced activity when combined with checkpoint inhibitors.

Image Source: Wugen's Official Website

This Phase 1 clinical trial is a global, open-label, dose-escalation and cohort-expansion study evaluating the safety and tolerability of WU-NK-101 in patients with relapsed/refractory AML and determining the recommended dose for Phase 2 clinical trials. It will assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, immunogenicity, and preliminary anti-leukemia activity of WU-NK-101.

Dr. Kumar Srinivasan, President and CEO of Wugen, said: "Today's news represents an important milestone for Wugen. WU-NK-101 is the first candidate therapy from our memory NK cell platform to enter clinical development. Our goal is to leverage the memory NK cell platform to deliver next-generation, potentially 'best-in-class' allogeneic memory NK cell therapies, transforming cancer treatment, including solid tumors."